About Me

The Truth About Mummy is the unfolding story on one mummy’s attempt to balance the desire to be a ‘Super Stay-at-Home Mum’ with the need to be recognised for the intelligent and creative person that she was before moving into the mummy-hood. With a cast of the ‘Mummy’, the ‘Dear One’ and the ‘three little pink people’ it is an honest confessional about the good, the bad - and all of the things that come in-between when raising kids in the mummy lane.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Yesterday morning I was dutifully making school and kinder lunches for the pinks. Mornings are a busy time around here - as most school/kinder/toddler families will know. Uniforms, hair, breakfast bowls, backpacks, lunches and drink bottles can be seen hurtling through the air at a million miles a hour as we dance the jig that is getting to school and kinder on time.

Most mornings this is actually 'almost' fun, but yesterday after my night of insomnia I was feeling more than a little fuzzy in the head. Sandwiches made I was packing the other bits in. Fruit, yogurt and chocolate chunk muffins and off to fill the drink bottles. When I walked back I was a little annoyed to see one of the muffins missing and straight away raised the question - "who took it?" The biggest pink looked at me quizzically and proceeded to tell me that she had watched me put one muffin into her sister's lunch box and then take it straight back out and put it into her lunch box. What the? Why would I do that! I'm sure I put one in each box. As the biggest pink is not known for being untruthful (or wrong for that matter ....... unfortunately) I counted the muffins left in the container and sure enough she was right.

How could I be so sure I'd done one thing when clearly I hadn't? Is my brain that unreliable? I raised this question with a mummy friend, while out on a much needed walk of our local lake, later that morning. She nodded her head in agreement and started telling me some of her own mummy brain tales. This raises the questions 'does motherhood mess with your mind'? My youngest pink will be three next month - so surely 'this too should be passing' and I should be returning to the intelligent sharp minded person I once was? It appears not. On a positive note we had a hoot of a time laughing at each other's ludicrous stories and played with the idea of writing a best seller based on a collection of them.

Do you have a funny Mummy Brain story to share? Can you tell me when I should expect this phenomenon to end? Or should we all just learn to live with this new 'post mummy' normal and laugh at ourselves regularly? Your thoughts on long-term Mummy Brain please.

I have trained the Darlings to "remind" me of things and it actually works out well. It'a their little job to do each day. My Mum had Alzheimer's so I am super sensative to this phenomenon, but really all you can do is laugh or otherwise you would go mad!

Yep - kids are great for replacement brains!! Only fitting I would say :) F.E. Mum - Alzheirmers came up in yesterdays discussion. My Grandmother had it - and I've heard it skips a generation. I hope they have found a cure before I got old(er). Thanks for popping by ladies. xx

I can definitely relate...I have been known to put the milk in the pantry and the salt and pepper in the fridge :)I often get up to do something then only seconds later forget what it was I was going to do. Thank goodness I can laugh it off.xx

Oh yes, Mummy brain syndrome is rife in me. I can't tell you the number of times I have washed my hair more than once in the shower because I couldn't remember if I had done it yet or not. I also frequently manage to condition before shampooing. Forgetting what I'm doing, or what I'm talking about halfway through a sentence. Putting strange things in the fridge... The list goes on and on. How much is baby brain and how much is sleep deprivation?

My best baby brain example is from when I was pregnant. I was watching the Australian Open (tennis) and got a text from my husband "On your way?" "On my way where?" I thought. Then it clicked. I was supposed to be at his work to pick him up (something I'd been doing every day for my whole pregnancy as we only had 1 car) in 5 minutes, 30 minutes away. "Yes, on my way, traffic nightmare" was my response....shhhhh don't tell him.

I call that phenomenon 'brain overload'. Unfortunately I've found as long as you have kids on your mind you're eligible..even grown up ones! It's not being dumb..I think it is just the mind prioritising..and when there is too much to think about it shifts to automatic and sometimes misses a beat. That's my explanation anyhow...like taking off to go to the Post Office without the parcel today!

I have often wondered about this mummybrain phenomena...is it related to chemical changes after being pregnant and giving birth or is it just the stress that comes with managing more than just our own needs? I do believe there is a daddybrain too lol...my husband has lost his marbles just as much as me since having kids..so that leads me to thinking it is the latter. Do you ever have those moments where you remember what it was like before you had kids? Not that you would ever give up that priveledge, but remember being able to get into the car and drive straight away without having to do everyones seatbelts, and carrying a pretty little handbag instead of lugging around a huge bag with a childrens wardrobe full of just in cases! I think sometimes our brains revert back to those moments where we only had to look after ourselves and our own needs, then suddenly you hear a little voice in the backseat saying, "mummy, you forgot my seatbelt!!" as you are driving half way down the street!

I love your refreshingly honest posts. I know, I've said it before, but I'm saying it again. Yes, motherhood messes with your mind. I was talking about this very thing today. And we realised that when our kids start school it gets easier. The Groundhog Day thing is what drives me the most batty. Hang in there. Not long to go! xx

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